Spring-gun



FFICEe ArtNr JOI-IN B. BURNS, OF CAMDEN, NEI/V JERSEY.

SPRING-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,560, dated September 29, 1896.

Application filed January 29. 1896. Serial No. 577,315. (No model.)

To all whom t may concer-7c:

Beit known that I, JOHN B. BURNS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Camden, in the county of Camden and State of New .I ersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates toa new and amusing toy 5 and it consists in the imitation of a pistol or gun having a spring for expelling the projectile, and a particular arrangement of trigger for holding the spring in its contracted position,whereby said spring may be released, when desired, by the proper manipulation of said trigger, and has for its object to provide a simple, cheap, harmless, and amusing toy.

In the drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure l is a perspective of a pistol made in accordance with my improvement; Fig. 2, a central longitudinal section thereof, showing the spring in its contracted position; Fig. 3 atoy gun, havin gmyirnprovement embodied therein; and Fig. 4, a detail plan view of a section of said gun, showing the arrangement of spring and trigger.

Reference being had to the drawings, A represents a pistol, in the barrel of which is formed the bore B, which is intersected by a slot C, and D is a spring, preferably formed of wire, one end of which is inserted at E in the stock, and the free end projects through the slot C and terminates in a slight forward curve below the barrel for the purpose of engagement with the trigger. The trigger F is formed of a piece of wire bent into rectangular shape, having its ends inserted in a suitable hole G in the stock, thus forming a loop the outer portion of which is adapted for engagement with the free end of the spring, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

A suitable projectile, such as an arrow or stick, is provided, which, in using the pistol, is inserted in the bore B until'its inner end is in proximity to the spring when in the contracted position shown in Fig. 2, when it is only necessary to depress the trigger, when the spring will be released and by its resiliency discharge the projectile from the bore. To reset the spring, its free end is pressed backward with one hand and the trigger engaged with the curve thereof, when it will be securely held until the trigger has been again depressed.

In practice this device is sawed from a board into the desired shape, the board drilled, and the slot C formed by the cut of a circular saw, by which means a very cheap and yet effective device is produced for the purpose intended.

In applying my improvement to a toy gun the barrel II is bored as described in connection with the pistol, the slot I sawed in the same manner, and the spring .I arranged as before described, but I prefer to form a coil K in the spring, so as to increase the resiliency thereof and the consequent action upon the projectile.

L is a trigger having its outward portion formed into rectangular shape, the end M of the wire passing through the hole N to form a pivot, upon which the trigger swings. The other end, O, extends backward and terminates in a thumb-piece P, by which the trigger is manipulated.

Q is a staple which embraces the section O of the wire so as to limit its swinging movement and thereby prevent its displacement. This arrangement of trigger permits the release of the free end of the spring J by an upward movement of the thumb-piece, and as this thumb-piece is within easy access of the hand grasping the stock of the gun the action will resemble, to a great extent, the firing of an ordinary gun. The end M of the wire from which the trigger is formed projects beyond the stock and is turned downward, so as to form a hook R, which engages the section O of the wire, thereby rendering the trigger more rigid.

I have found that by so drilling the bore as to form a stop for the inner end of the projectile, as shown at S, Fig. 2, the ordinary parlor match, when placed in the bore with its head next the spring, but at a sufficient distance therefrom, which is regulated by this stop, to permit the spring to strike the head with a sufficient blow, will be ignited by this blow and projected from the bore in a flaming condition, thus adding considerably to the amusement occasioned by the use of the device.

'I am aware that it is not new to make a IOO pistol or gun having a spring for discharging a projectile, and I therefore do not Wish to lay claim, broadly, to such a device.

rhat I do claim as new and useful is l. A toy, consisting of a barrel and stock sawed from a single piece of Wood, having a bore in said barrel, a slot intersecting said bore, a spring composed of a single pieee of wire, one end of which is inserted in the stock, and the other end projecting through said slot, a trigger composed of a loop made in rectangular forni, adapted to engage the free end of the spring, and be disengaged therefrom, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a toy composed of a barrel and stock,

scribing witnesses.

JOI-IN B. BURNS. lWitnesses:

S. S. WILLIAMSON, SAMUEL L. TAYLOR. 

